MSBA gives Needham OK to study Hillside building project

Monday

Aug 4, 2014 at 2:48 PMAug 4, 2014 at 2:48 PM

Hillside project moves to feasibility studyBy Jonathan Damejdame@wickedlocal.comThe Hillside school reconstruction project is moving into feasibility phase after an affirmative vote last week by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.The town will now hire consultants to develop multiple design options for a new elementary school to replace Hillside.The consultants will study two sites – the current location of Hillside Elementary School as well as DeFazio Park."We believe that one of those two will be workable," School Committee Chairman Michael Greis said.A third option, Cricket Field, was previously considered but has been taken off the table.Superintendent Dan Gutekanst said the state board’s unanimous vote last week was welcome but not unexpected."It’s another step in a very long process to get a new building at Hillside, but it was a critical step," he said. "I’m just thrilled that they supported the work and we’re ready to tackle the next phase."Rebuilding at the current Hillside location is the town’s goal, Gutekanst said, but would require construction of temporary housing for Hillside students for the two-year building process.This could potentially delay completion of the new school, which could be open as late as fall 2020 and as early as fall 2019, according to Greis.The enrollment target for design is set at 430 students. The town had wanted enrollment closer to 460 students but compromised with the state, which wanted just 390 students.Both Greis and Gutekanst expressed confidence in the chosen enrollment target."We really had to work very closely together to come up with a number, a design enrollment, that makes sense for Needham, which is a community that really continues to grow," Gutekanst said.The town initially wanted to bundle the Hillside and Mitchell school reconstruction projects together, at a combined estimated cost of around $75 to $90 million. Both schools have gone more than 40 years without significant renovations and are 40 percent smaller than state standards based on current and projected enrollments.But the state would only accept one project at a time, deeming Hillside to be more in need of immediate replacement than Mitchell.That means completion of Mitchell will not come for close to a decade. The town hopes to be entering the feasibility stage for Mitchell as construction on the new Hillside school finishes.Full-day kindergarten is still a stated and achievable goal of the two projects, but would require both new school buildings to be operational, Greis said.The feasibility stage for Hillside is expected to last around one year. It will consider a range of options for fixing the space problems at Hillside.One alternative option that’s been discussed is the construction of a new sixth-grade school at DeFazio Park, allowing the newly constructed High Rock School to become an elementary school.Once the consultants produce a number of design plans, the town will pick a preferred option and present it to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for approval.